'Confounding and stunning': House Democrat nails Republican 'hypocrisy' over the debt ceiling

30 April 2023

United States Representative Joe Neguse (D-Colorado) on Sunday tore into House Republicans for their brinksmanship regarding raising the Treasury Department's borrowing limit under the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California).

McCarthy's proposal to increase the debt ceiling by $1.4 trillion, which passed the House last week, contains substantial cuts to social programs that benefit the most vulnerable members of the American population. Neguse, echoing other Democrats' critiques of McCarthy's legislation, explained the dangers that the GOP's latest stunt poses to the fiscal health of the country.

"Raising the debt ceiling is supposed to be a rudimentary process, but the, the effects of the cuts in this bill could force families into and the whole economy into a depression. What's at stake if Congress and the president don't come to some agreement on this?" MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart asked.

"Well, first and foremost, Jonathan, I think the way that you characterized House Republicans' 'Default on America' bill is correct, and it's important to consider how we got here in the first place. The hypocrisy shown by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is both confounding and stunning. As you know, and as many of your viewers, I suspect, are aware, House Republicans approved a debt ceiling increase multiple times during the course of the Trump administration; everyone collectively recognizing that America has to pay its bills and that the full faith and credit of the United States should never be put at risk," Neguse said.

"What has changed? Clearly, this is pure politics at its worst," Neguse continued. "And it's unfortunate because my colleagues have now decided to literally in effect, take the American economy hostage by threatening this catastrophic default, which would have staggering consequences for the American people, unemployment rising millions of jobs potentially lost, the stock market potentially crashing, costs rising for everyone on everything. And then of course they've presented this false choice of either choosing to engage in this catastrophic default or enacting the Default on America Act, the legislation that you referenced that they passed earlier this week, which would impose staggering and draconian cuts on the American people. You think about the hundreds of thousands of Americans who would lose their healthcare, millions of Americans kicked out of their homes, ripping away food assistance, potentially cutting veterans' benefits. The list goes on and on. So, as you said, this is a dangerous game that Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans are playing. I hope that cooler heads will prevail and that House Republicans will ultimately do what is necessary, get serious, and, and let's move forward in ensuring that our economy remains a stable one."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

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